From the UAE’s Burj Khalifa to Egypt’s New Administrative Capital, the Middle East is no stranger to grandiose, large-scale projects, always on the hunt for the next record to shatter. In the latest of these Ozymandian feats, Saudi Arabia has its sights set on constructing a massive hyper-futuristic mega city penned ‘NEOM’ in the middle of the desert.
Only 200 meters wide, but 170 kilometers long and 500 meters above sea level, ‘The Line’ is turning architectural design on its side, literally. Touted to be 33 times larger than NYC, the awe-inspiring megacity, carbon-free utopia will have flying drone taxis, a Jurassic Park–style amusement park, and a giant artificial moon. No roads, cars or emissions, this aptly-named linear smart city will run wholly on renewable energy and 95% of the total land mass will be preserved for nature.
